The Solstice Gift
by Ceana
Summary: Solstice night finds one of the smallest inhabitants on the estate of Egla Tir waiting for his yearly gift. AU One Shot Challenge using characters and location from Maedhros' End.


AN: This was a challenge from a friend on Solstice last December. She had specific things she wanted included: 1. It had to be about a little animal of some kind. 2. It had to be set on the estate of Egla Tir (from my story: Maedhros' End) 3. Maedhros must be involved. 4. I only had 15 – 20 minutes to write it.

The first three were easy, but it took me at least an hour to find a plot bunny and write it. My friend was happy with the results…typos and all. I've now had my hard-working beta, Oselle, give it a look and I can now share it with you.

Disclaimer: I own nothing created by Professor Tolkien so Maedhros is his. However, everything else is mine.

- O -

The Solstice Gift

(A Promise is a Promise)

By Ceana

The mouse's name was Wee Laddie and he was known throughout the woodlands of Egla Tir as the mouse with a special Friend. All the animals living in the ancient forest knew why Wee Laddie's Friend was special. Each year, on the eve of the longest night of winter, this Friend would come to the big tree where the mouse clan lived. And there at the hidden entrance, he would leave a pouch of nuts and dried fruit. This was for the mouse and his family nesting warmly underground amongst the thick roots.

Wee Laddie waited patiently on that night each year. He would station himself behind one of the many fat roots poking out of the snow as he waited for his Friend and his offering. As long as his clan could remember, this Friend of mousekind performed this annual ritual. Many thought this a strange human custom, but Wee Laddie knew him to be more than human. It wasn't his long hair or the shining light in this Benefactor's eyes that led the mouse to think him of a different kind. No, it was what he said each time as he laid the pouch on the surface of the snow and then straightened his long lean body.

"A promise is a promise," he would say to Wee Laddie as the mouse watched from his not so secret hiding place. "A gift for the long cold nights from a friend." An instant understanding of those words was the reason he knew there was more to this person than just kindness. He would speak no more. The mouse Friend would turn and begin to walk away from the great tree. Wee Laddie was always amazed; he never heard a footfall crunch in the snow, no matter how cold or high the drifts were. That too was strange, but there were other considerations. The clan would enjoy the bounty of the pouch left behind.

This night, however, the mouse grew nervous as he waited for his special Friend. Midnight had come and gone, but still no sign of him. He was never late, and there was a deep coldness in the forest that he hadn't noticed before. It was an empty feeling, a sense of something missing.

Then he heard it. The "crunch, crunch, crunch" of heavy footsteps coming toward him. He hurriedly buried his head further down behind the protection of his root. Suddenly, it stopped. Awful thoughts filled his mind. What if it was a hungry cat looking for a quick meal? What if it was a human with an axe coming to steal wood from his tree? Wee Laddie slowly raised his head until he could see properly. There, standing in the exact place where his Friend would stand, was a human female. She wasn't as tall as his Friend was, but her hair was long and dark just like his. She held a lit candle in her gloved-hand and her gentle face was easy to see in its glow. Her eyes were familiar, but without the shining of the Other Kind in them.

The human looked directly at him and smiled. Wee Laddie froze; he didn't know what to do. Finally, the girl said, "Don't be afraid little guy. I'm here to give you a present." With that, she bent down and placed a pouch on the snow. She loosened the leather strings a bit. Still looking at him, she smiled again. "Maedhros has gone…" She paused for a moment. He could tell the words were difficult for her to say. "Maedhros has gone home to his people. But before he left, he told me how a mouse from your clan showed him kindness when no one in the world cared if he lived or died. And because of this, he promised he would always remember that mouse on this longest night of the year."

Wee Laddie looked at the pouch and then at the girl. He blinked. Once again, he could understand everything she was saying. He skittered on top of the root and stood up. Slowly he bowed to his new special Friend. The human straightened, gave him a quick nod of her head. With burning candle in hand, she turned, and began to crunch her way back through the forest.

Still standing there, Wee Laddie watched her walk away. She must have known this, because as she continued to walk, she suddenly shouted into the cold night air, "A promise is a promise."

The End.


End file.
